Swiss Federal Railways judges itself ‘very punctual’ in 2022

Speeding to get there on time: a Federal Railways train entering the Ceneri tunnel in southern Switzerland. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

Some 92.5% of trains operated by the Swiss Federal Railways in 2022 were on time, the company said on Tuesday.

The figure marks an increase of 0.6 percentage points on the previous year, the Federal Railways said on Tuesday, and a decrease of 0.1 percentage points on the pandemic year 2020, when there were in any case much fewer passengers on the move.

“On time”, according to the definition of the company, means arriving with no more than a three-minute delay.

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The company said the “very punctual” result was driven by – among other reasons – the mild weather conditions, the ongoing dip in passenger numbers at the start of 2021, and better coordination of construction work.

Some 98.7% of passengers meanwhile made their connections, marking a very slight dip on the previous year, partly due to problems with international connections.

Regional differences

Punctuality varied however across the country: while the (biggest) German-speaking region was most punctual, delays were more frequent in the south-western French-speaking region. This was due to the many construction projects underway, the Federal Railways said. It is currently working on a timetable overhaul in the region.

The Swiss are avid train travellers, with reports in the past putting them well at the top of European lists, both in terms of frequency of usage and kilometres covered.

Of the country’s 5,100 km of railway, around 3,200 km is operated by the Swiss Federal Railways. Founded in 1902, the former federal organisation became a public limited company in 1999.